Next SFF Author: Rick Yancey

Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham

Series: Young Adult

Fantasy Literature for Young Adults (over the age of 12).

Thresholds: A good read for middleschoolers

Thresholds by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

In Thresholds, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, we meet Maya. Maya’s best friend Stephanie died of cancer during the school year, so her parents, both school teachers, accept new jobs in a new state to give her a new start. Then, the night before the school year starts, a fairy flies in through her bedroom window and decides that Maya makes an excellent pillow. Maya wakes in the morning to find a pile of fairy dust. Though most people don’t notice anything different about her,

Raised by Wolves: Mixed messages

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I’m of two minds about Raised by Wolves. It features a suspenseful plot (especially in the second half) and one really good message, but also includes, possibly by accident, a couple of disturbing messages.

Bronwyn “Bryn” Clare is a human girl being raised by werewolves. As a little girl, she and her parents were attacked by a feral werewolf, a “Rabid.” A pack of “good” werewolves burst into the house and rescued Bryn but were too late to save her parents.

The Seventh Swan: A moving story

The Seventh Swan by Nicholas Stuart Gray

I had a hard time getting into The Seventh Swan at first; I think Nicholas Stuart Gray‘s writing style was the culprit. He jumps between points-of-view constantly, so it’s hard to tell who’s thinking what. After I got used to that, though, I found The Seventh Swan moving.

Alasdair is the seventh swan-brother from the famous fairy tale, left with a swan’s wing instead of one of his arms because his sister was unable to finish that last shirt in time.

Linger: Loose ends unravel further

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Warning: This review will contain spoilers for the previous book, Shiver. There’s simply no good way to discuss Linger without them.

You could stop with Shiver. You really could. It ends on a tentative note of happiness, and it’s easy to imagine that everything worked out OK after that. Sure, there are a few loose ends: Isabel’s dad is still itching to shoot some wolves, the lycanthropy cure is incredibly dangerous and might have unintended consequences,

Wintercraft: Ordinary with occasional flashes of brilliance

Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw

In Shadowcry (Wintercraft in the UK where I live) we meet Kate Winters, a young girl who discovers that she has the power to see through the veil and command the souls of the dead. She and her friend, Edgar — who is more than he first appears to be — are taken to the city of Fume and caught up in a power struggle between the Skilled and the High Council, who wish to destroy them.

Wintercraft is a really mixed bag.

The Old Country: For YAs and adults who like folk and fairy tales

The Old Country by Mordecai Gerstein

Gisella lives in the Old Country, where “every winter lasts one hundred years, and every spring is a miracle.” In one tumultuous day, her brother Tavido is drafted into the army on the eve of war, even though they are Crags, a despised ethnic group. When she goes into the forest to hunt the fox that has been stealing her family’s chickens, she makes the mistake of looking into the eyes of the fox, and finds herself in the body of the fox, and the fox in control of her own body.

A Princess of Roumania: A vivid cast of characters to love and hate

A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park

When I was a preteen, I was a sucker for books about everyday, average girls who turned out to be long-lost princesses of some obscure country or other. A Princess of Roumania is an original take on that old trope, looking at that girlish fantasy from a couple of new angles.

The story begins during a typical summer vacation for high-school student Miranda Popescu. She’s an average teenage girl in every way, except that she has hazy memories of an early childhood in a distant land and a handful of objects that seem to corroborate those memories.

Dark Visions: If you like Edward, you’ll love Gabriel

Dark Visions by L.J. Smith

“If You’ve Got Darkness in Your Nature, You Might as Well Enjoy It…”

One of the beneficial side effects of the sudden surge in paranormal teen romance is that Lisa Jane Smith’s novels have been republished. They were essential reading material in my adolescence and getting the chance to reread them in my twenty-something-hood has been lots of fun. Supernatural creatures, love triangles, empowered heroines, a solid story, and clear narrative with just a hint of purple prose are the staple ingredients in any L.J.

Sandry’s Book: Pure enjoyment for all ages

Sandry’s Book by Tamora Pierce

THE CIRCLE OF MAGIC series by Tamora Pierce consists of four books, but the action and characters are so intertwined that it makes sense for me to review them as a series. These are some of my favorite YA stories, and ones that make me cry every time I read them.

THE CIRCLE OF MAGIC tells the story of four young people — Sandry, Tris, Daja and Briar — who are brought to the Winding Circle Temple by Niklaren Goldeye,

A Conspiracy of Kings: Weighty YA

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

Eugenides is now the respected, if not loved, King of Attolia. When his childhood friend improbably becomes King of Sounis, Attolia’s neighboring country and historical adversary, Eugenides has to choose between loyalty to his new country, his queen, his homeland and his friend. Is there any way to balance the competing claims on his heart and his conscience?

This fourth book in THE THIEF series by Megan Whalen Turner brings it back to his former brilliance. The character of Gen and his friend Sophos,

Next SFF Author: Rick Yancey

Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham

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Recent Discussion:

David C Walton on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 5, 2025
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
Marion Deeds on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 5, 2025
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
Bill Capossere on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
We’re in total agreement David!
David C Walton on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Marion Deeds on Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil: Ambitious, atmospheric, and ultimately unevenJuly 3, 2025
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.